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Leilani Downer is a writer, producer and director with an impressive list of network television credits spanning three decades. She was a supervising producer on Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper on ABC, Fresh Prince of Bel Air on NBC, Sister, Sister on the WB, and Rewind for FOX. With a career that began with the hit 90’s ABC TV show Growing Pains and NBC’s A Different World she also worked on such series as Living Single, Married with Children, and The Cosby Show, to name a few. Leilani has written for several other network television sit-coms, as well as selling and writing pilots for ABC, FOX, NBC, and Hallmark. In 2016 she made her directorial debut with a romantic comedy short called The Arrangement. She has worked alongside Debbie Allen (Grey’s Anatomy) , Terence Winter (Wolf of Wallstreet, Dallas Buyers Club), Scott Budnick (Just Mercy, The Hangover Franchise),and Matthew Weiner (Mad Men, Sopranos). Most recently she wrote for Netflix’s series, Julie and The Phantoms, directed by Kenny Ortega which began streaming in late 2020. She currently is Creative Director and Head Writer at HCandF's The Slate.
Born in Chicago, Sonya Tiajauna Evans started in dance and theatre at an early age before going on to teach for the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation. Two years from her doctorate, she received a Masters in music theatre from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting from the HBCU Prairie View A&M University in Texas. At the end of her academic career, she hit the Vegas stage before returning to home to star in such plays as "LoveChild" and "Forever My Darling." Later, she auditioned for Tyler Perry, who hired her on the spot – and co-starred in such plays as "Madea's Family Reunion," and "Why Did I Get Married." After studying at IOWest and nabbing the coveted 2011 NAACP Theater Award for "Best Leading Actress" for the role in "For Color Girls..." she went on to co-write, direct and star in her own comedy web series ‘Involuntarily Single.’ Her sophomore project with writing partner (Louis McGruder), which has been recently optioned, is a CIA Intelligence action | drama called ‘BREAK.’ With two new scripts completed, Sonya will also be producing her first feature film this year.
Teri Brown-Jackson is a native Detroiter, who started out as a journalist working at KFWB, where she won a prestigious Golden Mike Award. She switched from writing facts to fiction after completing the Warner Brothers Writers Workshop, landing her first writing job on NBC’s, “In The House.” Since then, Teri has written a couple of episodes of “The Parkers”, worked on “That’s So Raven”, wrote ten episodes of Tyler Perry’s “House of Payne,” and her short film, “Dark Chocolate,” won best dramatic short at the Independent Film Showcase. Currently, Teri teaches screenwriting for Kids In The Spotlight and Half-Hour TV Scriptwriting for UCLA Extension.
Corey Moore is TV writer in Hollywood, currently staffed on the legal drama ALL RISE for OWN. He has worked on NCIS:NEW ORLEANS for CBS and on the Kirk Franklin drama KINGDOM BUSINESS for BET+. Prior to his transition into TV, Corey was an award-winning broadcast journalist for such outlets as NPR and KPCC (Southern California Public Radio). Throughout his journalism career, he pursued his passion for film and TV writing and placed in several top screenwriting competitions including: the Austin Film Festival and as a Quarterfinalist in the Academy Nicholl Fellowship program. Corey is an alum of the CBS Writers Mentoring Program and is now in development on a TV project with producer DeVon Franklin.
My name is Terrell Lawrence. I’m from the deep backwoods of South Carolina. Before becoming a writer, I worked in the accounting department of a talent agency for 8 years which felt more like 8 decades, before I became a client of the agency I worked for. I’m interested in telling funny, heartfelt stories that’ll hopefully motivate people to go after their own dreams no matter what their background is. I’m also interested in perfecting my battle rap skills.
Sylvia Franklin is a storyteller, firmly centered on themes exploring electric familial dysfunction. This WGA member enjoys the power and reach of both TV and film, and has worked on creative teams that have produced over 200 hours of scripted TV. She’s also co-produced the award-winning indie THINGS NEVER SAID (on Amazon). The native Chicagoan has a background in journalism, having worked in TV news for the Chicago CBS affiliate WBBM-TV, research analyst in advertising, and as a media consultant for various corporations. Sylvia has also worked as script coordinator for shows including ABC’s THE ROOKIE, SHOWTIME’s THE CHI, and FOX’s PRISON BREAK. Her credits include staff writer for NBC’s drama MEDICAL INVESTIGATION, writer on the critically acclaimed 2022 ABC drama, WOMEN OF THE MOVEMENT, and writer for the ABC drama, THE ROOKIE. Further, Sylvia is readying an online course shedding light and insights on the workings of a TV writers’ room. She continues to develop her own projects.
Jasmine Ogunjimi is a Nigerian-American Professional Athlete turned Screenwriter and Filmmaker from Chicago. Before selling her soul to FinalDraft, you could catch her playing basketball across the globe, dancing backup for celebrities - although no one ever believes her, and adding to her running list of ways people mispronounce her name. She enjoys writing dramedies that explore faith, sports, social institutions, and grounded characters with skin dark enough to make Beverly Hills nervous. Jasmine competed in the Scriptwriter Showdown in February and received a special mention for her script,
